Ban Multiple Choice Tests!?!

As a high school student, I did not like my history classes. Everyday it seemed, we sat through a lecture and then took notes. Before the test I would review my notes, memorize them and usually perform well on test made up of mostly multiple choice questions. I'm not sure I would call that "real" learning. In fact, this Edutopia article reveals the flawed creation story of multiple choice assessments.

Later on, in college, I found out that history was not just a series of names and dates. I discovered that history was full of interpretation and grey area. Based on that discovery, I decided I wanted to be a history teacher. I certainly do not lecture every day, in fact, I rarely lecture. But I do tend to give multiple choice tests (along with some short answer and essay questions). Multiple choice questions don't sit well with me, they certainly don't reveal the grey area of history. For this reason, last school year I gave several all-essay tests. I even attempted two rounds of discussion tests in the form of a socratic seminar (credit to @LS_Karl and his blog). I feel like these other kinds of tests force students to use facts as a way to support their claims and not just memorize some random facts the night before the test.

But are multiple choice tests really so bad? Several teaching professionals discuss the idea here. Perhaps testing factual content via multiple choice isn't the end of the world. Students do need to be held responsible for content knowledge and a multiple choice format (coupled with other types of questions) are an easy way for students to demonstrate that knowledge and teachers to assess it. I am in favor of the move away from history as names and dates, but in the end, there are some names I would like them to know.

Luckily, I teach in a private school so I am not worried about high-stakes multiple choice tests from the state. I also feel confident that if I hold students to a high standard of thinking and learning, they will do well on on college-entrance exams. In the coming school year, I will continue to distance myself from multiple choice tests, but I see no reason to ban MC questions altogether.